24Bagpipes

I’ve ;just posted Yin and Yang but have a few minutes snuck in at the lab so will try to catch up with things i’ve been wanting to write about. So skroll down when you finish this to yin and y;ang.

I have acouple ofminutes at the nasty; computer so this will be a bit ;rough. I’m going back a bit to July 29th and the Halkirk Highland Games. I’d gone back to Helmsdale to the hostel while the Clan Gunn had their dinner dance (formal, £40, need I saY more?). So I hopped on the train,rode through the Kildonan Valley and then ;got off at Georgemas, about 3 miles from the games, but the nearest station, if you want to call it that. As I got off, a chap was just ahead of me and someone had come to pick him up so I asked the way to Halkirk, he said, oh do you w;ant a lift? yes indeed. So his Dad, must have been in his 80’s drove me right to the town. I found the Clan Gunn folks just leaving a meeting that I didn’t mind missing. While we were stadning about the Thurso pipe and drum band began playing and marching up and down the closed off street. There were 24 bagpipes, played by people of all ages in kilts or skirts, and 10 drummers. Everyone was getting quite excited, well I was anyway, then Ian Gunn, The Commander, unfurled the Clan Gunn flag and we all moved into the street behind the flag. Being a bit of a motely crew everyone was jammed together but then we had our orders to muster, which means line up 4 in a row. That took some doing as some family groups were larger but I went with my favorite people, Barbara and Ian Gunn from Australia. The ;band began again and we marched down the street in a parade with people waving from the sidelines. I was feeling the ;most affection for the other clan members at that point and it was a great ending to the week.

BLUE NILE EAGLE

While at Dunrobin Castle I managed to catch the falconry show in the gardens and the same man was having several birds of prey do tricks for us. LiAnna and I saw the same man, different birds in 03 during our speed tour of Scotland. I was quite impressed with him and LiAnna teased me endlessly about my crush on the falconer. This year he had a new bird that hand managed to fly to Scotland with a broken wing. He receives injured birds of prey from all over the UK, so this one, Fig, came to him. Fig has regrown his wing feather and learned to fly well again but doesn’t have plans to roam. Why would he when his caretaker feeds him chicken mcnuggets daily? The eagle is quite large but what is ;most impressive is the color of his feathers. The bird is native to Egypt, is rare these days, and is a beautiful shade of slate/sea blue. I took some close up photos and only hope they turn out. The falconer was sitting with Fig just a few feet away from those of us who stayed past the end and Fig was close enough to touch. I kept ;my hands to myself.

A WEE VERSE FOR IRENE AFTER THE MIDGES

River gurgles to the sea

Midges take a bite of me.

Hills beyond hold history

Clan Gunn’s land, three centuries.

The Clay’s here now

Their house so grand.

Full time gardener on the land

Still the rivers to the sea.

Some things change and some things not

The clans are gone but sheep run free.

The hills stretch on for miles and miles

While people return each other’s smiles.

SNORING IN ITALIAN

My last night at the hostel had four beds occupied in the women’s side. A young Swiss woman, me and a mother and daughter from Italy. I’ve been trying not to snore, no one has mentioned being kept awake, but that night, I SWEAR, the woman next to me snored in a melody the same way she speaks. It was interesting and somewhat astouding and I was a bit tempted to wake up Irene so she could listen but instead I finally dripted off and snored in American.

The yin and yang of Findhorn

Last night at 7 I walked 10 minute from my B&B to the Shambala Retreat Center for the peace in the mideast vigil. It wasn’t like our vigils in mcminnville where we stand on a corner and hold banners and signs and take abuse from the public. This place is a country home from the 1800’s now owned by the retreat center/findhorn foundation. It’s a restaurant, B&B, commuity meeting place and Buddist center. About 50 people attended from around the world, I sat next to two women from Israel and a woman from France on the other side. They had cushions and chairs in a circle and a wee candle for each person. The walls were hung with tapestires and the alters had photos of the Dali Lama and a favorite guru of the place. People took turns reading passages about peace from many different perspectives and we sang some songs, and omm’ed for a bit. I had stopped at a church at Inverness on Friday as they had a peace prayer note on the door for just the time I was walking by. That was in a Church with an Episopal minister reading passages. It was only 10 minutes long but I began crying the moment I set my back down and cried through the whole service. They set me in the front row with my pack so there was no way to be inconspicous. mark alwasy accuses me of wanting atttention, but this time I would have crawled under the pew if that would have helped. I think I had stored up all my grief about the bombing of Lebanon and Israel as the highlands are so removed from the rest of the world.

So I had my hanky at the ready in the Shambala center but it was more of a joyful ceremony  even though it had the same purpose. Afterwards i started walking up the driveway towards the party I’d seen a poster for and a woman was just ahead of me so I caught up wth her and we chatted while she showed me the shortcut to the dance. It was a celebration for a couple in their 50’s from the commuity who had gotten married a few weeks before. They had consumed all the alcohol when I got there, probably a good thing, so I watched the first round dance and the spoke to a woman standing around also who said she would dance but didn’t have a partner. I offered to be her partner so we joined a line dance with a lot of enthusiastic swinging about to a tune from a guitar and Irish pipes (played by my tour guide, Rory, from the day before). He remembered me and so I have had my first experience of sort of knowing someone.

This morning I walked back over to the community wth my camera this time to take a few photos, hang out, get a coffee and maybe do some knitting. I was sitting outside the cafe talking to a woman from Scotland on holiday with her family. Her three young children were playing in the grass nearby jumping over rocks and laughing at their own games. One of the girls turned 6 yesterday, LiAnnas birthday, so we were chatting about what a peaceful scene when a huge bomber from the Royal Air Force just next door flew over very low, made such a loud noise we had to stop talking and then it circled out over the bay. A new one took off every ten minutes for the next hour so while i walked around the famous Findhorn gardens, jets screamed overhead. I haven’t asked anyone how they feel about that, living here, or if they ever have protests, but I suspect they just do the best they can to ignore the sound and send a blessing to whomever may be hurt by the mission. Well, maybe they are going to rescue people but I doubt it.

Back at the B&B I had a two hour massage from Marlene on Sunday. She does traditional Hawaiian massage which is quite a bit different than mine so it was both healing, interesting and completly relaxing. She has made me feel quite welcome and I come and go at her home with a key to the back door in case she is working in front. She fixed me lunch yesterdy and I washed the dishes. She’s from New Zealand but came to Scotland some years ago to be part of Findhorn. A common story as people arrived, take the classes, join the community and then find their own way to make money, live, travel, etc. She’s considering going Home though and will visit in November to help her decide.

I’ll leave tomorrow morning, back to Inverness to stay a night or just change coaches and head to Beauly, Dingwall or perhaps the castle hostel. This will be the first time when I leave somewhere not knowing where I am going but I don’t mind and am looking foward to some freedom of choice. Thanks for the comments, scrowl down a bit to make one, and emails, which if I have time at a computer will try to answer. Sent yet another box home today as I keep eliminating anything I don’t absolutely need. Still have my coloring book and pencils:), one ball of yarn and my three journals. Oh clothes, yeah, 2 longsleeves, 3 shortsleeves, 2 trousers, a jacket and my raincoat, and a party dress that I wore on my birthday ad will save for the next day i don’t need my raincoat. For those of you waiting for my Scottish brogue, I’ll do my best!! Love always, Ellie